Only One For Her
by Criminal Minds Addict 2.0
Summary: After watching the episodes Lucky and Penelope, we all couldn't help but wonder what Derek was going through during the events of her shooting. This story dives deep into the depths of our favorite Supervisory Special Agent as his best friend goes through the toughest moment of her life.


_**For followers of my PREVIOUS account, Criminal Minds Addict, this piece may look familiar. This is an edited, redone version of the story The World Stopped Spinning. If you guys remember, it was based off the episodes Penelope and Lucky just what I wished would have happened ;) I can assure you guys that this is the same good ole' Morcia fluff as before, just ten times better :)**_

 _Morgan's POV_

I entered the empty church, my mind in the gutters. I walked down the center aisle of the church, glancing up at the stain glass window above of veering off to the right, I sat in one of the pews closest to the stage. Tears gathered in my eyes as I looked up at the window once more. I brought my forearms up to rest against the pew in front of me. My head collapsed against my arms out of pure exhaustion. It wasn't until now that I felt the tension in my shoulders as I sat here, hunched over, with nothing but my thoughts to keep me company.

This was my first time in 20 years being in a church, for multiple reasons. This latest case was one of the sickest I've ever seen. The fact that Floyd was feeding the volunteers the victims in the food? Absolutely Sickening. Not to mention what Reid said to me on the way here continue to play through my mind on repeat. _"If you believe in god, you have to believe in the other."_ I always thought that god was supposed to protect all, but after seeing what this sick son of a bitch did to women, I wasn't so sure that was the case.

That's just the beginning of what's been the worst days of my life. I've never seen Penelope so hurt and angry when she was spewing those hateful accusations at me. I can't blame her, she was angry. Any normal person would be. On one of her countless calls to me, I was finally able to badger the fact that she blew off the coffee shop guy out of her. I would be lying if I said I wasn't relieved when she said this. It's not that I don't want her to be happy, because I do it's just- he's not the guy I want her to be happy with. I would also be lying if I said I didn't want that guy to be me.

When Penelope told me that, I said it was a smart move and there was 'definitely something wrong with him'. Once those words came out of my mouth, I knew it was a mistake. Before I could clarify what I meant, Garcia chimed in and said that just because I wouldn't hit on her from across a smoky bar, doesn't mean someone else wouldn't. I tried denying but before I could, Penelope told me that I sucked and hung up on me. Before I even had the chance to fully go over what had happened, Emily had entered the room to talk to me about the case.

After we had caught Floyd and the case was over, I called her to try and smooth things over. Let's just say the conversation didn't end well. Ever since that call, I've contentiously replayed it over in my head, wishing that things could have gone better.

 _I called Penelope and waited for her to answer. It had rung several times before she even answered. Normally she would answer before the first ring even finished._

 _''Hey sweetness, can we talk?'' I ask, hoping the apologetic tone was evident in my voice._

 _''Well I'll be damned, you actually called me. Did you call to apologize or are you just calling to tell me what else I'm doing wrong with my life?" She spat back, attitude clear in her voice._

 _''Baby girl, I called to see if you wanted to go out with me tonight,'' I stated, standing my ground._

 _''Excuse me?! Did you really think I was going to say yes after you said I wasn't good enough for you?"_

 _''Garcia I never said anything like that and you know it," I responded, running a hand over my head._

 _''You know what, I'm done hearing your shit for the night Morgan, I have better things to do.'' And once again, she hung up on me, not giving me the chance to explain myself further._

I've been over it countless times and every time I felt my heart break when I thought back to the anger in her voice.

Sighing, I stood up and made my way outside the church. Once I had made it to my car, I turned my phone back on. 3 missed calls. Geez, who the hell was trying to get a hold of me?

 _1st voicemail left 40 minutes ago. Derek, It's JJ. Call me back as soon as you get this, ok? Something's happened that you should know about._

 _2nd voicemail left 20 minutes ago. It's Emily calling. Why does your phone keep going to voicemail? Look, just call me back before I have to kick your ass, alright? It's important._

 _3rd voicemail left 5 minutes ago. It's Reid. I know Prentiss and JJ tried calling you and I don't know If you got them but- Garcia's in the hospital. She's been shot. She's still in surgery but I thought you should know. Just get over here as soon as you can._

In record timing, I opened the car door and started it, not bothering to put my seat belt. Penelope, my baby girl, was shot and I wasn't there for her.

As I pressed my foot further down on the gas pedal, I prayed to god that I could make it there in time. I was not about to have her last words to me be in anger and spite.

I couldn't get to there fast enough, at least, by my standards anyway. The minute the nurse told me where Penelope was, I bolted up the stairs to the fifth floor. As I come skidding into the fifth-floor lobby, the team notices me.

''Where were you? We've left countless messages.'' Reid asks.

''I was in church, my phone was off. What happened?'' I ask, wiping the sweat off my face with my arm.

''Not much. All we know at this point is that she was shot on the courtyard steps. Police think it's a robbery, evidence points to that too.'' Rossi tells me all while a frightened look begins to take over my face. In a daze, I sit down in a row of chairs next to me. I rested my forearms on my knees, hunching over. When I look up, I see Hotch walking towards me. He stands in front of me for a few moments before sitting in the empty chair beside me.

''Morgan, everything's going to fine, she'll pull through."

''I'm not worried about that Hotch. I know Penelope will make it, she's a fighter." I lower my voice so the rest of the team can't hear. "You and I both know this is no fucking robbery. Who's going to risk going into an enclosed courtyard, with windows all around to rob someone? Not to mention the Unsub just happened to choose someone from the FBI!"

''I don't know. What I do know this that we do not touch another case until we find out who did this, I don't care about protocol.'' He lays a sympathetic hand on my shoulder for a few moments until a doctor comes out with a clipboard. All of us jump up from where we're sitting, walking towards the doctor.

''Penelope Garcia?'' The doctor calls out.

''Yes, how is she?" Emily asks eagerness and worry peaking through her voice.

''Ms. Garcia has been shot in the shoulder. It was touch and go for a while, she lost a lot of blood. We were able to stabilize her though. One centimeter over it would have gone through her heart. I'm happy to say she will be just fine. In fact, she could walk out of here in a few days.'' Everyone sighs in relief. I find myself mumbling the words, 'thank god' under my breath.

''Penelope is up, but a bit hazy from the medication. I would suggest only one person seeing her at the moment.'' The doctor smiles at us before walking off. The team looks at me, assuming I'd be the person to go in there. I hesitate, my mind flashing back to our previous encounters. Emily nudges me down the hallway where the doctor said her room was.

Quickly, I walk down the hall and to her room. I stood outside the door for a moment, watching Garcia through the window. I assume she's gone under due to the medication because I don't see her body moving, just her chest moving up and down as she breathed. Tears pricked my eyes as I continued to watch her. I've never been so happy in my life.

I quietly open the door, making sure I don't wake her up. Closing the door behind me, I make my way towards the hospital bed, sitting in the chair closest to the bed. Leaning forward, I grab a hold of her hand. I bring her hand up to my mouth, lightly brushing my lips against the back of her hand before dropping it back down. When my eyes made contact with her face as she peacefully slept, the tears I had been holding back began to make their way down my face.

''Sweetheart, it's me. I know you probably can't hear me but god you scared the hell out of us. I'm so sorry I didn't make it here sooner. Believe it or not, I was actually in church. I know, hard to believe right?" I chuckled before continuing. "I don't care about how we left things between us. I'm still here for you, just like I always will be. You screaming and telling me to get the hell away from you will never, and I mean never, stop me from being by your side. You're one of the few people that matter to me and I can't believe I'm finally saying this, but I love you. I know I should have told you years ago but I love you and I'm never going to walk away from you.'' Wiping the tears that continued to make their way down my face, I got up from my seat and leaned down towards her. I lightly kissed her forehead before backing away and leaving the room.

When I get back to the rest of the team, I notice the dark circles under their eyes and the yawns escaping from their mouths. I offer to stay at the hospital for the night in case the doctor came out. Hey, it's not like I was going to get any sleep anyways! After a few minutes of protests from them, they all eventually leave and head on home.

After twenty minutes of sitting in the lobby by myself, the same doctor came walking down the hallway, minus the bloody scrubs. I stood up from the chair, nervous on what the doctor has to say.

''Ms. Garcia's now up. She's asking for a- Derek Morgan, is that you?'' I nodded my head, which caused the doctor to smile slightly.

''Good. She's still a little groggy from the medication so don't be surprised if she falls back under.'' Nodding my head, I slowly began to walk towards her room. When I get to her room, I hesitantly stand outside the door, just like before. Well, here goes nothing.

Taking a deep breath, I open the door and walk in. I sit in the same chair as before, this time, Penelope's brown eyes watch my form as I drag the chair closer towards the side of the bed.

''How are you feeling Penelope?'' I asked, refraining from anything else until later. She may have almost died, but she still probably was pissed off at me.

''I didn't think you'd still be here, thought you would have gone home with the rest of them." She spoke, her voice strained.

I couldn't help but chuckle as I responded. "Really? Then why'd you ask for me if you thought I wasn't going to be here?" Penelope smiles a little herself before responding.

''I- I should have trusted you, Derek." She croaks out, finishing her sentence with a cough.

I allowed myself to rest my hand against her arm. "What are you talking about Garcia?"

''The guy...he was the one from the coffee shop.'' The guilt that had been growing in my stomach started to intensify. This was one of the few times I wishing I hadn't been right.

''Baby girl, I know this might be difficult, but can you tell me his name?'' I ask, noticing that her eyes are starting to droop.

''James, James Colby Baylor.'' She whispers before her eyes finally close. Once I know that she's asleep, I brush my hand against her cheek, allowing my hand to briefly linger.

''I love you,'' I whisper before slipping out of her I'm a safe distance away from her room, I pull out my phone and call Hotch.

''Hotchner.''

''Hotch, It's Morgan. Penelope just gave us the name of our unsub. James Colby Baylor''

''That's fantastic, I'll have another tech on that. Rossi and I about to head out to the crime scene, want to meet us there?'' He asks me.

"No, I'm going to stay here if you don't mind. I want to be here in case anything happens with her." There was a moment of silence between the two of us.

"Alright, call me if anything changes with her." After agreeing to do so, I hang up the phone, putting it on a nearby table. I stretched out my legs in the chair, prepared for the long night ahead of me.

When I wake up a few hours later, I find JJ standing over me, an amused expression on her face.

''Reid went in there to start questioning her. Figured you'd want to be in there as well so I woke you up.'' JJ gives me a smile as I walk off towards the hospital room. When I walk in, Reid is sitting in another chair dragged up to the side of the bed as Garcia's sitting up in bed, pillows bracing her back as she's talking to Reid.

''Hey, how's everything going in here?" I ask the two of them as I sit in the other chair that's by her bed.

''Not good, she hasn't been able to tell me much.'' Reid answers. I look over at Penelope, who's still looking over at him.

''Come on sweetheart, you have to help us here so we can find the man that did this to you. Let's just start over. Is there anything that stuck out about him?'' I ask her, making sure my voice stayed calm. She looked between Reid and me for a few moments before responding

''When I originally blew him off telling him that I was sick, he had a tone in his voice like he knew I was lying, but he didn't call me on it.'' Penelope looks directly at Reid, which kills me on the inside. Were the two of us in that bad of a place?

''I called shortly after the original call because- I had changed my mind. When I told him, he just laughed before saying when he would pick me up.'' She continued, avoiding the real reason she had called him back; to prove a point to me.

''Ok, is there anything else that stood out?''

''Nothing I can remember though.''

''Alright, I'll be back later today. Feel better Garcia.'' Reid smiles at her, glancing at me before walking out of the room. I turn my body in the chair, making sure I'm looking at her directly. Penelope continues to avoid eye contact as she looks at everything in the room but me.

''Penelope, if you think about it, I was the reason you got shot. If I didn't make you feel the way that you did, you wouldn't have gone out trying to prove something to me. You never would have been shot and we wouldn't be here. It seems that lately I never know what to say to you to not make you upset.'' I hear Garcia sigh under her breath, still refusing to look at me.

''Would you leave it along already!? It's not your fault, everything leading up to this was my fault. I was being stupid. I tried to prove something to a man that wouldn't realize what I was trying to prove even if you fucking spelled it out for him.''Before I had the chance to answer, she continued speaking.

''On your way out, would you tell JJ to come in, at least she'll understand what I'm talking about.'' Without saying anything else, I stand up and walk towards the door. With one final look at her, I walk out of the room and head towards the lobby. I signal JJ to go in. She gets up from her seat, giving me a weird look before walking down the hall. Sitting back down, Reid looks over at me.

''I know you feel guilty about her shooting but Morgan, believe me when I say that there's nothing you could have done to protect her. The shooters were bound to get to her at some point. Nothing would have stopped him from getting to her.'' Reid stops talking when JJ comes walking back down the hallway, smiling. She looks at me before shaking her head. What the hell did Garcia talk to JJ about? Before I had the time to ask, Hotch came walking down the hall.

''I had a tech start searching Garcia's system for the name James Colby Baylor and in the process of doing so, he came across an encrypted file. Someone in IA caught wind of it. We've been ordered to drop the case and head back to the BAU.'' My jaw dropped as soon as he finished speaking. They want US to back off of a case where someone from our team almost died?!

''You've gotta be kidding me! They want us to back off when Garcia's been shot? Who the fuck do they think they are!?'' I ask, trying to keep my anger at a minimum.

''I don't know. Let's just figure this all out at the BAU, She needs to rest anyways.'' With grumbles coming from everyone, even Hotch himself, we all made our way towards the elevator and back towards the BAU.

When we arrived at the sixth floor, everyone is fuming. Reid is swearing under his breath. When we enter the bullpen, we are greeted by a stocky many in his late 40's wearing a suit. The minute I set eyes on the man, I started glaring at him.

''I that you guys followed the order and headed back to the BAU. Everything will go smoother now you guys are off the case." Oh, that does it!

''Excuse me? That was my best friend who yesterday, was fighting for her life. She's OUR family member and you're telling us to back off?!" I went to take a step towards the man, but Hotch stuck an arm out, preventing me from doing so.

''Sir, Agent Morgan is tense enough as it is. Please don't aggravate him any further." Even though Hotch was restraining me, I could tell that there was a part of him that wished he didn't.

''You might not want to do that," JJ adds in.

''Agent Morgan, I don't care if it's your best friend or not, your ass is going to stay here or you can kiss that badge goodbye.'' The man threatened as he narrowed his eyes at me. That's it, he's done it! At this point, Hotch had put down his arm as everyone took a few steps back.

''You know what you can do-" I practically growled as I stepped closer towards the man. JJ, Reid, and Hotch at this point had gone their separate ways and walked in the opposite direction. Probably so they didn't have to witness what I was about to say to the man.

''You have absolutely no fucking clue what goes on behind that little desk of yours', so back off. Nobody and I mean nobody, tells me what I can and can not do when it comes to my best friend's life. There's no way in hell I or this team is going to back off this case. Why don't you go back to the comfort of your office while the rest of us find who did this to her, alright?'' I gave him a sarcastic pat on the shoulder, before walking towards Hotch's office, where I see him just getting off the phone with someone.

''I just got off the phone with the hospital, they'll release Penelope, but only under the condition that someone supervises her recover until she gets back on her feet." Hotch addresses me, not looking up from a stack of papers on his desk.

''I have no problem doing it."

"I suggest you go to the hospital and get her then. Rossi or I will call you if there's any new developments and Derek? Don't listen to IA, we're staying on the case until we find the man that did this.'' I smiled for the first time since all of this happened as I made my way towards the car. I know that right now, Penelope and I aren't on good terms. On the drive to the hospital, I vowed to myself that I would make sure that wasn't the case by the time we caught the guy.

When I arrived at her hospital room, Garcia had already been helped out of the bed by the nurse, as well as changed into regular clothing. Even with the dark circles under her eyes and the no makeup face, she was still one of the most beautiful girls I have ever known.

''Emily told me she'd be watching me.'' She turns away from me to face the window that's in the room.

''Well princess, you're just going to have to deal with good ole' me for the time being. You ready to go?'' I ask her, finally stepping into the hospital room.

''Yeah I guess.'' Before she had the chance to grab anything, I grabbed her purse and the small bag that was sitting on the hospital bed.

''Think I'm going to let you grab your own bags after being shot? That's cute." She rolled her eyes before eventually following me out of the room and towards the car.

The entire ride to her place was spent with Penelope looking out the window, completely ignoring me. If this car ride was any indication of what the rest of the evening was going to be like, this was going to make for one boring night.

When we arrive at her place and are walking up the front steps, she stops dead in her tracks. Her eyes are focused on the dark stain that's still on the steps. It's been faded, but yet to be washed away by the elements. I watch as her eyes continue to widen, the terror clear.

''It will wash off, come on,'' I tell her, placing my hand on the small of her back. Reluctantly, she continues walking with her eyes still stuck on the stairs.

It didn't take us long for us to get up to her apartment. As I stand behind her, I notice her hands shaking as she tried to unlock the door. After a few moments, she eventually gets the door unlocked, only to drop the keys on the floor. I bent down to pick up the keys before entering the house myself. When I straightened myself up, I took notice of the dark purple walls and various knickknacks that lined every flat surface in sight.

''I wouldn't expect anything less of you.'' I smiled, walking in as I closed the door behind me. One of the first things that had caught my eye was a photo of a little girl and her family on the side table by the couch. By the looks of it, the girl couldn't have been older than the age of 7. I could tell by the bright, almost playful look in the little girl's brown eyes that this was Penelope. I would recognize that look anywhere.

''Is this you and your family?" I asked, gesturing towards the frame. Penelope gave me a sad smile before answering.

''Yeah, it is. When I was a kid, I always wanted to help catch criminals. They were hippies so I think that scared the hell out of them. Everything was- happy, up until they died." She looked away from the photograph.

''When did your parents die?'' I asked cautiously, knowing she didn't like talking about her parents. In her defense, I didn't like talking about my father either.

''When I was 18, car accident. A drunk driver hit them That's when things- changed.'' Her voice became meek as she cleared her throat. I nodded my head, deciding I wasn't going to push the issue further. I began walking toward the couch, knowing that this was where I was going to sleep until this son of a bitch was caught. Suddenly, Penelope turned towards me. She gave me a strange look for a few moments before speaking.

''Why are you here Derek? I've got my goon squad parked out front so why are you here?" She crossed her arms over her chest as she continued to look at me. There was an angry tone in her voice. Se seemed more- confused than anything.

''Goon squad or no squad, this couch is going to be my best friend until we find this guy now leave it alone." Once again, she gave me a strange look before shaking her head, smiling as she turned her back as she began walking towards her bedroom.

"Hey silly girl," I called out to her, hoping that she would turn around. Thankfully, she did as she looked at me, raising an eyebrow in the process.

"I love you, you know that right?" I asked her, my own voice wavering slightly. I didn't care if Penelope was still angry at me, I needed her to know that I loved her, whether she knew the full extent or not.

''I love you too." With that, she began walking back towards the direction of her bedroom. Sighing, I removed my gun from its holster and set it on the table, next to the photo of Penelope. Laying down on the couch, I grabbed the blanket that was laying over the back of the couch. After covering myself to the best of my ability, I ran a hand over my face. I hope we catch this guy soon. This wasn't the way to Penelope to live, no matter how short me staying here was. She shouldn't have to live in fear of some guy, coming back to kill her. Penelope also didn't me watching her over every move she made. All she probably wanted was to feel safe and I couldn't even give that to her.

I closed my eyes, settling in for the night. I wouldn't doubt if tonight was a long night of restless tossing and turning, and not just for Penelope.

I was woken up in the middle of the night by a shot that rang through the air. I shot up from my position on the couch and made my way over towards the window. Without giving my position away, I peered outside the window. The officer stationed outside the building was now on the ground, dead with a bullet wound in his chest as the blood began to darken the light blue color of his uniform shirt. God fucking damn it.

Without a second thought, I darted back towards the table and grabbed my gun off it, instantly setting myself in the low ready position.

"Garcia!" I shouted. If the gunshot ringing through the air didn't wake her up, she was up now.

Penelope ran out of the bedroom, a frantic look both in her eyes and on her face. "What's going on?"

"Stay right there, stay there!" I ordered her. I glanced out the window to see if the attacker was still there. Seeing no sign of him, I backed away from the window and made my way back over towards her. Without words, I dragged her away from all of the windows and pulled her body into one of the corners in the building.

Once Penelope was tucked into the corner, I lifted my pant leg and took the pistol I kept at my ankle out of its holster. Once it was cocked and ready to go, I shoved it towards her.

"Take this gun."

"Oh no, I don't believe in guns!" She frantically responds. Taking a hold of her hand, I wrapped her fingers around the grip of the gun and shoved her hand towards it.

"Trust me, they are very real take it! Alright, you keep that finger off the trigger. Someone walks through that door, you grab a hold of the trigger and you squeeze, fire you hear me?!" Not waiting to hear a response or an acknowledgment from her, I swiftly exited her apartment.

I carefully made my way down the stairs and through the various floors, searching every possible place for the shooter. Nothing so far. Once I got to outside, I saw the shooter running into ongoing traffic. I raised my gun up in the air, hoping to get a shot off. Shit, it was too crowded. I lost him!

Not wasting a second, I ran over to the downed officer and grabbed the radio off his chest.

"107 Levensworth, I have an officer down. Repeat, officer down, send an ambulance!" Once I heard dispatch acknowledge that they were sending backup along with an ambulance, I slid my gun back into its holster. Penelope's shooter came back, he shot a cop. If I wasn't at Penelope's place, who knows what would have happened to her. She could have been injured, or worse.

I began making my way up to the apartment back to Penelope. God, she must be absolutely fucking terrified right now. Not only did the man that already tried to kill her come back, but I left her alone with something she's not entirely comfortable with.

When I got back up to her apartment, all of the lights had been turned off throughout the apartment. The door was also left ajar, causing me to raise my gun back up. I closed the door on my way out.

Crossing the threshold, I glanced towards the corner where I had put Garcia before I went downstairs. She wasn't there. I swore under my breath as the panic level rose within me. There's no possible way that this guy could have gotten up here, I watched him run into traffic in the opposite fucking direction!

When I turned around, lowering the barrel of my gun back towards the floor, Garcia stood in front of me, pointing the gun at me. The terrified look in her eyes and the death grip she was giving the gun told me all I needed to know.

"Penelope, it's me don't shoot! Don't shoot." I raised my hands in surrender, sliding my gun back into its holster. Garcia took her finger off the trigger, but her grip didn't loosen on the gun.

"Sweetheart, you need to let go of the gun. Drop the gun." I lowered my voice all while stepping closer towards her. I was only a few steps in front of her when I spoke again, my voice even lower and deeper than before. "Penelope, give me the gun."

Eventually, she relinquished her grip on the gun, pushing it back towards me. As I bent down to put it back where it belonged, she slid down to the floor, her back against the floor.

Once the gun was secured, I stood there staring at Penelope as she sat there, her body starting to shake. I was torn on what to do. On one hand, it was obvious that she still held some anger towards me after getting shot. On the other hand, I'm her best friend and a best friend is supposed to be there for her through thick and thin. Guess what? Best friends proceed whatever the hell she's feeling.

I took a seat next to her on the floor, not saying anything to her. I glanced at her, resting my hand against her shoulder.

As Penelope leaned her head on my shoulder, the words 'thank you' fell across her lips in a faint whisper. I turned my head, kissing the top of hers before responding.

"Anytime."

When I woke up the next morning, I realized that I wasn't on the couch, where I was planning on sleeping. Instead, I was on the floor of Penelope's bedroom. After a long night of the cops sorting everything out with her and me dealing with the rest of the team coming over, she finally went off to bed. At first, she tried to get me to go back to bed on the couch. Yeah, you can probably guess I shot that idea down. The guy that shot her before just came back to kill her and she thinks I'm going to let her out of my sight. That's not gonna happen.

As I got up off the floor, I noticed that Garcia was still sound asleep, tucked away as if nothing had ever happened. I thought about waking her up but decided against it. After what she's gone through the past couple of days, she deserves to sleep in a few extra hours.

I walked out of her bedroom and into the living room, rubbing my eyes. When I took my hand away from my face, I saw Emily and Reid sitting on the couch, grim looks on both of their faces. Emily raised an eyebrow when she saw me walk out of the bedroom, but didn't say anything to me.

"Hotch sent us over, he wants us to go through the cases Garcia flagged with her, see if anything jumps out." I nodded my head, turning back towards the bedroom. God could this girl just catch a break for once?!

Before I had even fully made my way back towards the bedroom, Penelope was coming out, grumbling under her breath as she tied a bathrobe around herself. I turned on my heels and followed her back into the living room.

Without even so much as greeting her with a 'good morning', Emily was handing us pieces of paper.

"Alright, each of you guys take a copy. We need to see if any agents overlap in any of the cases." Emily explained as we each took a different seat in the living room. After a few minutes, I could hear Reid speak up.

"There aren't any agents working these cases. But the same deputy was the first responder at three."

"What's the name?"

"Jason Clark Battle. The same initials as the fake name he gave Garcia." We all frantically flipped through the pages, looking at those three cases.

"What are the cases?" Reid asked Emily.

"All three were drive-by's, close range and shot with a revolver." Emily, Reid and I all looked at each other. The same weapon Garcia's shooter had used on her.

Garcia reached towards a keyboard that sat on the coffee table and began clicking away at the keyboard, searching the name "Jason Clark Battle". She wasn't supposed to be logged into her systems, as she was still being investigated by Internal Affairs. Somehow I think Hotch and Rossi would be ok with this one once they found out what it was for.

After a few seconds, a man in a deputy's uniform appeared on the TV in front of us. The all too familiar look of tear of terror grew on Garcia's face for a few seconds before she spoke up.

"That's him." That's it, we had the bastard!

The anger of finally seeing this man's face coursed through my veins as I started to pace.

"Derek, let's wai-" Reid tried to speak up but I cut him off.

"No, let's not. This Battle guy shot Penelope. I'm not going to wait. This guy has been acknowledged as a hero, what two times and he's still stuck as a fucking deputy? Even his superiors knew there was something wrong with this guy!" I spoke, my voice getting louder and louder.

"Uh- guys?" I could hear Penelope's voice speak up, but even that didn't stop me.

"He's underappreciated in the world and over-appreciated in his own mind. He's not going to stop until he kills her and you want me to WAIT?!" I knew I have to try and control my anger but at this point it was useless.

"Uh, my fine furry friends there's something-"

"Where does this guy live? Because I'm going to hunt down this son of a bitch and bring him in myself if I have too-" I began making my way towards the door.

"I hacked into the BAU's camera system and found out Battle's currently in the bullpen!" All of us snap our heads towards Garcia, then the TV screen. Sure enough, Battle was there, in uniform talking to the guy from IA and what must be Penelope's replacement until she was cleared. We couldn't make out exactly what they were saying, but from the looks of it, it looked like a heated discussion as Battle was practically in this computer guys face, telling him whatever he was telling him.

I stormed towards the door, this time no one stopping me as I had made it to the door and started walking down the apartment hallway. This guy thought he could not only terrorize Penelope's life but her workplace too? Well guess what, this guy was about to meet a force that shouldn't be reckoned with.

"Derek!" I heard someone call down the hall. Turning around, I saw Penelope standing in the doorway of her apartment, worry covering her face.

"Yeah?"

"Be careful." I found a smile making it's way up to my face as I winked in her general direction.

"Trust me baby girl, you don't have to worry about me going anywhere."

On the way to the office, I called Hotch and told him what was going on and what had happened. He did confirm that Battle was still there and that he would keep him there to the best of his ability. Once I had gotten off the phone with Hotch I couldn't help but think about what might happen when I got there. Battle's going to recognize me considering he came to the apartments last night. Granted, he was in a building surrounded by FBI agents, but this guy wasn't going to go down without a fight.

As I rode up in the elevator to the bullpen, all sorts of thoughts started going through my head. What if, by some freak accident, we didn't catch this guy? What if he killed one of us instead. He'd already done enough damage as is, we didn't need him causing any more.

The elevator doors opened and everything was calm. Agents went about their business, completely ignorant to what's going on just a few feet away. Looking through the glass doors to the bullpen, I saw the replacement tech, typing away at some computer with Battle hunched over next to him. Knowing him, the asshole was probably trying to get him to remove his files for some reason.

Off towards the side, I could see Hotch and Rossi start to surround Battle without making it too obvious. He kept his eyes trained on the tech, completely oblivious to what was happening around him, or at least I hoped.

I entered the bullpen, keeping my eyes focused everywhere. Rossi's eyes met mine as he raised his eyebrow, signaling me to move to the other side of Battle and surround him that way. I subtly nodded my head, then proceeded to walk towards the two. The two of them were keeping their conversation at a low volume, but I was able to hear Battle grumble under his breath before saying, "Can we make this go any quicker?" So far so good.

I started to walk behind Battle, making sure to keep my eyes off of him. I didn't need to be making eye contact with him.

I wasn't quite sure what happened, mainly because I was keeping my eyes off Battle but the next thing I know, he had reached behind him, snatching my gun out of its holster. I raised a hand up to strike him, but he spun around, bring his arm around to grab a hold of my throat and bring me closer to him. Battle jammed the barrel of the gun into my temple, cocking it in the process.

In a flash, all the FBI agents had drawn their weapons and pointed them towards us, including Hotch and Rossi.

"You're surrounded by FBI agents Jason," Rossi spoke up, his gun trained directly at his head.

"I'm a decorated officer!" Battle shouted, pressing the barrel against my temple harder. With my hands raised in surrender and his tight grip around my throat, there wasn't much I could do.

"Then you don't want to go down like this. This isn't how you want to be remembered, do you?" Hotch spoke up, both him and Rossi slowly advancing towards me and him.

"Don't come any closer, I'll blow his fucking brains all over these walls." They both stopped in their tracks, not daring to move any closer.

"Hey man, we can still get you out of this, we can help you." I tried to reason with him, my eyes still scanning. "All you have to do is let me go and we can work something out."

Battle let out a sickening laugh. "Help me? I've killed four people, one of them being a cop. Not to mention, I committed attempted murder against an agent of the FBI. Sorry, 'Technical Analyst.' There's no HELPING me!"

"Everything would have just gone a lot smoother if Penelope would have just died the first time. You wouldn't be in this situation, Agent Morgan. Tell me, how's your best friend doing? I bet she's pretty shaken up about what happened last night."

"You leave her out of this, you hear me?" I growled out, attempting to glance back to glare at him. He jerked me back to the original position, tapping the gun against the back of my head.

"Oo, too soon? I understand, really. You're best friend almost dies and her almost last words to you were something nasty from what she told me. I'd be a little touchy about the subject too if I was you."

"What do you know? You're a psychopath on a self-destructing path!" I couldn't help but spit back as I continued to struggle against his grip. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see three figures making their way towards the bullpen. Once my eyes focus, I see that Penelope's entering the bullpen, a wild look in her eyes while Emily and Reid stayed outside. Seriously?! This is the absolute worst fucking time for her to show up!

"Oh Garcia, you're just in time to watch your best friend die!" Battle called out to her, motioning for her to come closer towards him. With a deer in headlights look now glued onto her face, she took a few steps closer. I no longer could see past her and into the outside of the bullpen as she was blocking my view.

"Have anything you want to say to her Agent Morgan before we end all of this?" Yeah, I had a lot to say.

I cleared my throat, tears pricking in my eyes as I stared at her. "Penelope, I'm sorry. I never intended for any of this to happen.I was such a jackass to you and I'm so sorry. I just- I thought you were standing in your own way of the happiness you deserved. This is probably the best time for me to say this but- god, I should have just let you lead me in the right direction!" I practically yelled, finally putting down my hands in frustration. "I was the reason you got into this situation and I can't tell you how much I wish I could fix all of this so you'd never have to relive it, but- I can't and for that, you'll never how sorry I am."

Tears started to make their way down her face as she moved towards the right to Rossi. He put down his gun and brought her into his arms, turning her back towards Battle and me.

In a quick turn of events, I drove my elbow into Battle's ribcage, causing him to drop his arm from around me as he gasped in Pain. I was just able to get away when a loud _'bang'_ rang through the room, accompanied by the sound of shattering glass. Battle now laid on the ground, blood now pouring from a bullet hole in his chest. His eyes glazed over as the life was already drained from him.

Emily came into the room, not putting her gun down for a second. I couldn't help but give her a sad smile as I looked down at his body.

"Nice shot."

"Eh, I was aiming for his shoulder." I bent down to the ground, long enough to retrieve my weapon from his clutched hand. As I was straightening myself, I couldn't help but whisper, "How does it feel you son a bitch?" to his lifeless body

FBI agents began flooding to Battle's body as I stepped away from him. The sooner he was out of this building the better.

As if my body were on autopilot, I began making my way towards Penelope, who still stood off towards the side with her back no longer turned away from all of this. She stood there, her now glazed look in her eyes as she stared at Battle's body being swarmed by agents.

"It makes sense, why you were speaking like that. You were never one for vague, complicated sentences." I couldn't help but chuckle as I now stood in front of her, looking down at her face.

"It's not like I could exactly tell you what my plan was." With her eyes still fixated on the body, I rested my right hand against her shoulder, lightly squeezing it.

"I told you that you didn't have to worry about me going anywhere on you."

"You're a really hard person to get rid of Derek, do you realize this?!"

"Only when it comes to you Penelope, only when it comes to you."

With Battle now dead, maybe we could finally put all of this behind us and move on. Penelope's has had enough happen to her in the past week to fill the rest of her life. Maybe, just maybe, once everything slowed down, she'd realize that I'm the only for her.


End file.
